Italy April 2019: Dacia Duster (+226.2%) first non-FCA SUV on podium in market back up 1.2%

The Dacia Duster climbs on the Italian podium for the very first time.

In April, new car sales in Italy register their third year-on-year gain in the past 12 months after last July and December at a shy +1.2% to 174.940 units, yet the year-to-date volume remains firmly set in negative at -5% to 714.510. Once again private sales over-perform at +2.2% to 94.414 units and 54% share vs. 53.4% in April 2018 with the YTD tally now up 4% to 411.103 and 57.5% vs. 52.6% over the same period a year ago. The most dynamic channel is rental sales up a whopping 22.7% to 56.840 and 32.5% share vs. 26.8% a year ago with short-term rentals up 43.5% to 26.343 and long-term ones/leases up 12.1% to 28.180. YTD rentals are however down -6.9% to 193.012 and 27% vs. 27.6% over the first 4 months of 2018. Finally company sales implode again at -30.6% to 23.686 and 13.5% share vs. 19.8% and down -25.9% YTD to 110.395 and 15.5% share vs. 19.8% in 2018. Petrol sales (+32.7%) are back above diesel (-22.5%) at 78.409 vs. 70.788 for April but also YTD at 309.490 (+24.3%) vs. 307.840 (-25.2%). GPL soars 12.9% to 12.077, standard hybrids are up 26% to 8.973, EVs up 355.9% to 1.190 and PHEVs up 151.9% to 471.

The Fiat Panda surges 55.2% to cement its leadership at home.

Brand-wise, homegrown market leader Fiat may have finally stopped the haemorrhage, dropping a tiny -0.2% which is its best result since September 2017 and reaching 17% share, its highest since July 2018. Opel (+22%), Peugeot (+7%) and Volkswagen (+5.8%) are strong in the remainder of the Top 5 but Ford (-7.9%) and further down Renault (-23.4%) and Jeep (-12.4%) suffer. The hero of the Top 10 is once again Dacia (+97.3%) almost doubling its sales year-on-year to #7 and 4.9%, equalling its Italian ranking and share records established last August. Citroen (+7.1%) and Toyota (+6.9%) also shine while outside the Top 10 Tesla (+514.7%), Mahindra (+881.8%), Porsche (+150.6%), DR Motor (+111.5%), Lexus (+107.9%), Smart (+42.9%), Lancia (+30.7%), Ferrari (+28.2%), Seat (+23.4%), Lamborghini (+21.1%) and Suzuki (+17.7%) stand out.

First ever Top 50 finish for the VW T-Cross.

In the models ranking, both the Fiat Panda (+55.2%) and Lancia Ypsilon (+30.7%) post outstanding gains to cement their domination of the Italian charts, and they are joined this month on the podium by the Dacia Duster (+226.2%) posting another incredible performance and smashing its ranking record for the second straight month to lift it to #3. According to BSCB archives, the Duster is the 1st non-FCA SUV to climb onto the monthly Italian podium, and the 4th one overall after the Fiat 500X (#2 in December 2017), Jeep Renegade (#3 in May 2018) and Jeep Compass (#3 in August 2018). A stunning performance indeed. Below, the Fiat Tipo (-0.1%) is stable year-on-year to shoot back up 14 spots on March to #4, its first Top 15 ranking since last August and highest level since last July, with 65% of its sales coming from the station wagon variant. The VW T-Roc (+103.1%) manages a 4th consecutive Top 10 finish at #7 and the Dacia Sandero (+42.9%) breaks into the Top 10 for the third time in the past 6 months at #9. Further down, notice the Smart Forfour (+120.1%), Opel Karl (+53.4%), Corsa (+49.8%), Audi Q3 (+44.1%), Peugeot 3008 (+35.2%), Toyota Aygo (+34.3%) and Ford Focus (+26.9%) all posting fantastic gains, while the Kia Stonic breaks its ranking record to #42 for its 2nd ever Top 50 appearance after May 2018 and both the Toyota Corolla (#47) and VW T-Cross (#49) break into the Top 50 for the first time.

Previous month: Italy March 2019: Dacia Duster breaks into Top 5 in market down 9.7%

One year ago: Italy April 2018: Fiat (-20%), Lancia (-37%) dive, Jeep (+77%) soars

Full April 2019 Top 50 brands and models below.